Call for Proposals – Pop-Up NYC 2012

The Pop-Up Museum of Queer History gives voice to the rich, long, and largely unknown histories of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people. Our community – and especially our youth – deserve to know our history. If you don’t know you have a past, how you can believe you have a future?

We uncover queer histories pushed out of consciousness by homophobia, racism, classism, transphobia, ableism, and xenophobia. We are looking for exhibits that educate and inspire. We welcome proposals from artists, academics, historians (amateur and professional), and anyone with information to share. We are open to work on any queer topic, in any media or performance format, from any part of the world.

For Pop-Up NYC 2012 we are particularly interested in work that addresses the theme “Before We Were Queer.” Culturally, the term “queer” gained widespread sexual context in the 1920s & 30s. We are interested in work that explores same-sex desire and transgender identities before this time. We are also open to work that interprets this theme from other angles, including 1) work that addresses periods in history or cultural contexts wherein sexualized queerness was / is not considered “strange” or “other” and 2) work that explores the personal journey to identifying as queer (so long as it speaks to a larger historical story).

Event Details

The next Pop-Up Museum will be presented with the Leslie Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art at their gallery space (26 Wooster Street, NYC). Installation will be August 7th and the Museum will run from August 8th – 31st. Deinstall will occur on September 1st.

Proposal Guidelines

To submit a proposal, please email submissions@queermuseum.com by June 4th. In two paragraphs please explain the proposed topic and design of your exhibit. Please be as specific as possible. If it is a pre-existing work, a work-in-progress, or a collection of archival materials, please send video/images. Please note if the exhibit has specific tech needs (ex. Projector, DVD player, PowerPoint, etc.). Please note that all exhibitors will be responsible for transportation costs and installation of their own work, unless discussed with curators on a case by case basis. The gallery will provide general liability insurance.

The more interactive, educational, and entertaining the work, the more likely we will be able to show it. We receive many excellent proposals, and look to curate a diverse event from the submissions we receive. If we are unable to show your work at this iteration of the Pop-Up Museum, please note if you are open to having it shown at future Pop-Ups in other locations.